Butte Musicians Unite Friday Night to honor and help local legend

When you've inspired and assisted as many musicians as Ken Rich has, it is easy to see why local bands and musicians jumped at the chance to help out when they found out Ken was in need.  Ken, who has recently undergone an emergency medical procedure, will be the guest of honor this Friday night at the Elks Lodge as Ken Rich Appreciation Night takes center stage at 7pm.  Slated to perform are an all-star selection of local bands featuring King Friday, JST US, High Ore Road and Check Engine Light.

Rich's musical roots in the Mining City run very deep.  Born into a musical family, one of Rich's early projects was a high-school rock band named Trilogy with current King Friday bassist, Marco Kurilich.  Commenting on the early days with Rich and bandmates Chris Henderson and Jimmy Sullivan, Kurilich says Ken's talent shined through early and often.  "When we first met Ken, he was the best musician out of all of us," Kurilich explained.  "Great drummer and singer.  None of us could really sing so we were impressed."  After performing in another great local band called "Wanted", Rich took his musical talents to California where he worked steadily for several years, and then to Seattle where he found regional success in the area where Grunge was taking it's baby steps.  Around 14 years ago, Rich met and married Kurilich's niece, Tasha, and brought his talents back to the Mining City where he has been raising a beautiful young family and has since been a local favorite as both a soloist and the frontman for the immensely popular Ken Rich Band.  During his time back in Butte, Rich, along with producer Dave Heidt, also released "Emerald: A Tribute to Thin Lizzy" which was a note-perfect cover album of Rich's favorite Thin Lizzy songs.  Rich performed most of the instrumentation on the album but his selflessness was displayed as nearly every track features a different, local guest musician.  He is also a social media favorite in his "Voodoo Lounge" segments of cover songs on Facebook are not only again painstakingly perfect, but again more times than not will feature a guest.  "I think every musician in Butte really looks up to Ken as everyone recognizes the true talent he has," Kurilich said.

Ken Rich Appreciation Night will start at 7pm at the Butte Elks Lodge, 206 W. Galena this Friday, August 19.